Love at First Bite: Kumori

I have been hearing about this Japanese cheesecake place for several months now. Aside from the delicately prepared cheesecakes, its milkshake also share the spotlight with its abundant photos on Instagram. It really made me curious but I do not want to brave the traffic even if Makati is quite near my place. But when R and I did our errands near SM North, I managed to convince the mall hater to drop by The Block and visit the cheesecake's branch there. It has been a long while since my last mall visit and honestly, I got dizzy. There were just too many people. And I can’t help wonder what these people do for a living for them to have time to shop around on a work day. After getting lost and making a few wrong turns, we finally reached Kumori.

Hello, Kumori!

The place was packed when we arrived. I didn’t really think of what to pick anymore. I just chose the one near the counter as it seemed to take the cashier a long time to finish one transaction. I got a Custard Butter Bun (PHP45), Hanjuku Cheese Original (PHP48), Hanjuku Cheese Chocolate (PHP48) and Cottage Cheese (PHP58). I also got Choco Hazelnut Milkshake (PHP175). 

When I placed my order for milkshake, the server/cashier told me that they ran out of mason jars and asked if it’s okay that they serve it on a take out cup. I insisted that I want it on a mason jar for blog purposes and she found a way to serve mine on a mason jar. I’m sure the person before me was pissed when she heard that as she also ordered milkshake and hesitated to say yes to the take out cup.

While waiting for our milkshake, we took a bite off some of our purchases. 

The Custard Butter Bun was delightfully chewy like mochi buns. I also love the faint taste of custard which made me appreciate the bun even more. 

As for the cheesecakes, I have to agree with the reviews on Hanjuku Cheese Original and Chocolate. These are amazing! It was soft, milky and undeniably packed. It is what I call quality pastries. I do not mind splurging on these small cheesecakes if quality is like this. I am in love. It was definitely love at first bite.

But the chocolate lover in me won as I prefer chocolate over original. Texture and consistency of the two cheesecakes are the same but the added chocolate flavor just made my taste buds twirl.  

The cottage cheese was also great! Its flavor was also light and perfect with a warm drink. I love the consistency of this one. (We didn’t eat it though at the cafe because they didn’t hand us a teaspoon to eat it.)

The milkshake took a long time before it was served. R even had to follow it up. (We also had to follow up our request for water... thrice!)

But when it arrived… my eyes turned into hearts. It was a pretty sight. Till we started to drink and eat the garnish.

It was messy to enjoy. We started with the salted pretzels and used it to get the Nutella on the rim of the mason jar. I then ate the waffles and the delectable soft bun. It was so good with Nutella! The milkshake itself was good too. It wasn't too sweet and you could really taste the hazelnut flavor. 

Great food but the place was a mess! It took them a long time before they cleaned our table. Service was too slow too. I'll just have everything to go next time. 

Kumori is located at Ground Floor, The Block, SM North Edsa, Quezon City.